Rob Whittaker has survived a tense brawl to scrape by a game Paulo Costa at UFC 298.
The former champion ensured he remains in the title picture at middleweight with the unanimous decision victory (29-28x2, 30-27).
While all three judges saw it the same way, Whittaker was made to earn the victory in a fight which threatened to go either way at any moment.
MORE: All the results from UFC 298
In the dying seconds of a tight opening round which probably leaned towards the Australian, Costa landed a wheel kick which had Whittaker on wobbly legs and may have brought about a fight-ending flurry had the bell not sounded.
Whittaker was able to get back to his corner and regroup and he looked the more comfortable of the pair in the second round, getting the best of the boxing exchanged and continuing to chew Costa's lead leg up with low kicks.
Most viewers had it even going into the third round and it followed a similar script to the opening round, with both guys having bright moments.
Whittaker's work to Costa's left leg was paying dividends but the Brazilian's power shots remained a constant threat.
Costa attempted to bait Whittaker into trading in the middle of the cage but the Sydneysider remained disciplined.
In the end, all three judges scored it for Whittaker but he'll know he was in a fight when he wakes up tomorrow.
While Whittaker got Australian fighters on the board following Junior Tafa's loss earlier on the card, things got worse in the main event.
Alex Volkanovski's featherweight title reign was ended in brutal fashion by Ilia Topuria courtesy of a huge right hook in the second round.
